By Pemphero Malimba:
Police Monday arrested Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice president for the Central Region Alfred Gangata for allegedly possessing a Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) certificate which was obtained illegally.
Malawi Police Service spokesperson Peter Kalaya told The Daily Times that Gangata handed himself over to the law enforcers at police headquarters in area 30, Lilongwe.
Kalaya alleged that the MSCE certificate, which was obtained from Chitowo Community Day Secondary illegally.
“Evidence on the ground is that he was neither a student there nor did he go there to sit any examination, meaning that the certificate that he is using at the moment was obtained illegally,” he alleged.
He said the DPP vice president had been charged with a case of obtaining a certificate by false pretence, in line with Section 319 of the Penal Code.
He said Gangata was expected to appear in court today.
“Our officers are finalising paperwork, writing statements [and the like]. So, we are going to take him to court anytime this afternoon or tomorrow morning,” he said.
Kalaya quashed assertions that the arrest was politically motivated.
“When discharging our duty, it [status] doesn’t matter when we are arresting a suspected law offender. We are not supposed to be barred from arresting a law offender because we are heading towards elections. We arrest any person who has offended the law,” he said.
In January, Gangata was arrested for alleged forgery, falsifying tax records, uttering a false document and concluding a transaction without a tax clearance certificate.
He was, however, released on bail after spending a weekend in police custody.
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